Head Meridian Acupoint Massage Can Help Relieve Stress

Head and scalp acupressure points are helpful for a range of conditions from headaches and dizziness to excessive thinking and insomnia. And now a study published in the May 2016 issue of Massage magazine by Ya-Ting Lee from the National Taichung University of Science and Technology in Taiwan, indicates that a 10-minute head meridian acupoint massage could reduce stress and increase relaxation.

Acupressure

Acupressure is a 5,000-year-old ancient healing art with its origins in Asia that uses the fingers to slowly press key healing points on the body, which rouses the body’s natural self-healing capabilities. Sought for its ability to ease physical pain, acupressure can also relieve emotional anguish and stresses that cause the body to shut down.

The study, entitled “Principle study of head meridian acupoint massage to stress release via grey data model analysis,” included 45 women, ranging in age from 25 to 55 years, with long-term work stress or high scores on the physiological stress index.

All of the participants in the study received one 10-minute head meridian acupoint massage per week for four weeks. All massages used the same five acupressure points on the head and shoulders. The five points “belong to the extra channel, Du meridian, urinary bladder meridian, and gall bladder meridian, respectively,” stated Ya-Ting Lee, one of the study’s authors. The five points included: EX-HN5 (Taiyang), UB10 (Tianzhu), Du16 (Fengfu), GB20 (Fengqi) and GB21 (Jianjing).

Study Results

The study concluded that “head meridian acupoint massage benefits the autonomic nervous system, enhancing the parasympathetic activity. In fact, the high-frequency component of heart rate, which is related to relaxation and the parasympathetic nervous system, was greater among the study’s subjects following the head massage. In contrast, the low-frequency component of heart rate, which is related to stress and the sympathetic nervous system, was higher among the study’s subjects prior to the 10-minute massage.”

This recent study now provides evidence for another form of massage that can lead to cognitive benefits and stress relief.